Before You Throw A Marker Away, Try This Trick To Bring It Back To Life

Sometimes markers refuse to mark anymore, despite having plenty of ink left inside. The usual response to this affliction is to rub the marker furiously on a piece of paper before slamming it into the garbage, but there are more constructive ways to attempt a resurrection.

A post from last February on The Art of Doing Stuff suggests dipping the tip in a small reservoir of rubbing alcohol until ink starts to drip out. Then you put the cap back on for 15 minutes before removing it and falling back in love with that marking utensil you sort of hated for a little bit while it abandoned on you.

We’re not sure how this works, because Mr. Wizard — like all great Misters from the 80s — is no longer around to explain it to us, but we’ll just consider it to be more proof of the magical healing properties of alcohol.